Eclectic Jim Owens entering entering Vallejo Sports Hall of Fame

Jim Owens has always considered himself unique and eclectic be it in sports or activities outside the fields and courts.

This March hell become a little more unique.

Hes being inducted into the Vallejo Sports Hall of Fame.

Its nice.

It means that someone is finally recognizing my achievements, Owens said.

Some of them when I looked back on them are very unique.

I guess Ill be recognized for my entire history of them.

Owens never has liked to toot his own horn, but with the news of his latest accomplishment, hes done a lot of reflecting on his sports achievements.

He lettered in four sports at Vallejo High (baseball, football, basketball, track) and was the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter at the West Vallejo-Mare Island Little League game.

He was on the Vallejo Junior College championship team and later pitched in the minor league system for the Kansas City Athletics.

That experience was eye opening, Owens said.

I remember looking down on the field from atop Kansas City Municipal Stadium and thinking, Wow, holy macro, I might get to pitch in front of a lot of people here someday.

Owens, plagued by arm problems, never had a chance to pitch at the venue.

But he was a minor league all star and threw multiple no hitters before the injuries forced him to give up the sport.

Looking back on his time in Kansas City, it wasnt anything on the field he remembers the most.

On the field I never really thought about it, but once you walked off the field you noticed some things I wasnt used to growing up in Vallejo, Owens said.

It was challenging because you had to deal with the racism in that area.

There was always insults along with watermelons and other objects being thrown from the crowd.

I wasnt used to that and its affected me to this day.

As a kid Owens said he often got in trouble, but that trouble is what helped him become a great athlete.

When I was young I used to throw rocks a lot, Owens said, with a laugh.

I used to throw rocks at cars, objects, people.

I was a handful as a kid.

But it led me to become good in basketball, football, baseball because I could hit targets.

Owens spent time in the military as well and playing basketball on his National Guard team.

Owens was known as a good defender, but became a solid shooter later during his tenure.

The day he remembers the most from that experience was when he had to do one of his conditioning drills for the National Guard.

There was about 10 stations, whether it was running, jumping, climbing, etc, Owens said.

They were conducted to make sure you stayed in shape.

On this test there was only guy anyone knew of ever scoring a 500.

I mean, there had to be 40,000 troops over time and only one had a 500 score.

I came close with a 498.

Part of the workout was you had to run three straight 440s.

By the third one I was just tired.

I guess the other guy wasnt.

Owens also made a great coach, leading the Vallejo Girls Police Activities League Soccer team for years.

When not playing sports, Owens was guiding youth as a special education teacher.

Owens, who still lives in Vallejo, is wary of the challenges of limiting all the important moments of his 80-year life into a three-minute speech.

I think more than anything I was just eclectic and did so many things in my life, said Owens.

Not just sports.

Thats just one aspect of my life.

The 19th annual Vallejo Sports Hall of Fame Ceremony is March 15 at the Dan Foley Cultural Center, starting at 3:30 p.m.

The Coach Sarna League and Vallejo PAL are hosting this years event, which will feature all proceeds going toward youth sports scholarships.

Prices are $80 for an adult ticket, while the price is $40 for a youth ticket (ages 6-12)..

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